A Phalanx close-in weapons system (CIWS), which Human Rights Watch calls a prototype for fully autonomous weapons—or “killer robots”—fires at sea. (Photo: U.S. Navy/flickr/cc) Fully autonomous weapons, or “killer robots,” present a legal and ethical quagmire and must be banned before they can be further developed, a new human rights report published Thursday urges ahead of next week’s United Nations …